By Eric Thomas: According to the latest boxing news, former bantamweight and super bantamweight champion Rafael Marquez (35-5, 34 KO’s) will be fighting World Boxing Organization featherweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez (28-0, 25 KO’s) on September 18th in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Lopez, 26, is nine years younger than the 35-year-old Marquez. However, Marquez looked great in stopping Israel Vazquez in the 3rd round last month on May 22nd. But, Marquez will have to count on being able to fight beyond three rounds against Lopez, because he won’t be fading easily like Vazquez did. Lopez is coming off an impressive 7th round TKO win over Steven Luevano in January.

Before that, Lopez struggled to beat Rogers Mtagwa in October 2009, winning a 12 round decision but getting staggered in the 11th and barely making it out of the fight in the 12th. Marquez has been in three wars with Vazquez in the past three years. His recent fight with Vazquez, which was his 4th fight, was far easier.

But it’s still unclear how much Marquez has left at this point in his career. He may still have enough left to beat Lopez but with the amount of punishment that Marquez took in the fights with Vaquez, it’s hard to tell how much Marquez has left in the tank.

This should be a thrilling fight while it lasts. Marquez has the offensive skills and power to challenge Lopez more than his recent opponents.